 |
Actually
it's quite easy to differentiate the pretérito
plusquamperfecto from the other tenses, but we'll
have a look at this a little later in chapter
7.6. The pretérito
perfecto is again quite simple to recognise since
- as you will see it is very similar to the English
present perfect . For
most of us it's a bit tricky to find the difference
between pretérito
imperfecto and
pretérito
indefinido. Here you will have an overview over
all the three tenses:
| |
pretérito
imperfecto
|
 |
| 1. |
There are two actions
in the past that happen at the same
time.
|
| 2. |
There is an action in the past
that is disrupted by another action
in the past.
|
| 3. |
The action is repeated in the past.
|
| 4. |
It's not clear whether the action
that started in the past still continues
or not.
|
| 5. |
It's not actually important when it
happened. It's just in the past.
|
|
|
| |
|
pretérito
indefinido
|
|
1.
2. |
It is an action in the past that was finished
in the past and does not have any influence
on the present anymore.
There are more than one actions in a sequence
in the past. |
|
| |
|
pretérito
perfecto = present perfect |
|
1.
2. |
The action happened in the past, nevertheless, it
still has an influence on the present for
the speaker.
The speaker is in the same time frame /
time "zone" like the action he
is talking about.
|
|
Just have a look at the table to find some significant
examples
| pretérito
imperfecto, pretérito perfecto and
pretérito indefinido |
|
| pretérito
imperfecto and pretérito indefinido |
| |
English
sentence |
|
There was a little village,
but the people were happy. |
|
| |
Spanish
correct |
|
Era un pueblo pequeño,
pero la gente era feliz
|
|
| |
explanation |
|
It's not important when
the village existed and whether it is still
on this planet. It just was. |
|
| |
Spanish
incorrect |
|
Fue un pueblo pequeño,
pero la gente fue feliz |
|
| |
English
sentence |
|
While he told me the
story of his life, I was bored to death. |
|
| |
Spanish
correct |
|
Mientras él me
contaba su vida, yo me aburría a muerte
|
|
| |
explanation |
|
The "classic"
case: there are two actions at the same time. |
|
| |
Spanish
incorrect |
|
Mientras me contó
su vida, yo me aburrí a muerte |
|
| |
English
sentence |
|
I was walking on the
street when suddenly the accident happened
that changed my life. |
|
| |
Spanish
correct |
|
Paseaba por la calle,
cuando de repente ocurrió este accidente,
que cambió mi vida
|
|
| |
explanation |
|
There is the basic action
- walking on the street - that is interrupted
/ disturbed by a second action - the accident,
that changed my life.
|
|
| |
Spanish
incorrect |
|
Pasé por la
calle, cuando de repente ocurrió este
accidente, que cambió mi vida |
|
| |
English
sentence |
|
He drank his beer, paid
and left. |
|
| |
Spanish
correct |
|
Bebió su cerveza,
pagó y se fue
|
|
| |
explanation |
|
More than one action
that occurs in succession. |
|
| |
Spanish
incorrect |
|
Bebía su cerveza,
pagaba y se iba |
|
We already had a short glance
at the verbs that have a different meaning when used
in imperfecto
in comparison to the indefinido.
|
saber
in imperfecto = to know |
saber
in indefinido = get to know |
| |
Cuando
la viste,
sabías ya que se había muerto su
marido?
When you saw her,
did you already know that her husband had
died?
|
Si, lo
supe el domingo,
cuando María me lo dijo
Yes, I heard about it on Sunday,
when María told me.
|
|
|
conocer
in imperfecto = to know |
conocer
in indefinido = to get to know, to meet |
| |
A María,
la conocía ya cuando todavía
vivía en Paris.
I knew María already when living in Paris. |
A María,
la conocí en Paris
I met María in Paris |
|
|
tener
in imperfecto = to have, to own |
tener
in indefinido = to get |
| |
Tenía
una casa muy linda en Berlín,
pero vivía en Munich
He had a very nice house in Berlin,
but he lived in Munich. |
Cuando tuvo
la casa en Berlin, se mudó
When he got a house in Berlin
he moved right away. |
|
|
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